Targeting Someone's Heart
by RogueShadowX
Summary: While the Hanagumi sleep, Mari stays up to watch the embers dance in the fire. She never would have thought that it would lead to finding out more about herself and her Hao sama. Maybe staying up once in a while is a good thing after all. Hao x Mari!


**Targeting Somebody's Heart**

**By the Rogue Shadow**

Sitting within our camp circle, I watch as the flames dance back and forth in the fire Hao-sama had summoned for us. The flames dance in a seemingly tragic fashion as they cannot escape their fate. They can burn with greatest of passion and blaze magnificently, yet in the end it will all be for naught. They will perish. As do all things. Regardless of how much those flames may try, they will wither away and die in the end.

_Is this Mari's fate?_

"Hm… Mari? Are you feeling okay?"

I slowly turn my gaze away from the fire and look up to see my lord and master, Asakura Hao, watching over me with a look of concern on his face. Leaning over, his hands rest on his knees with his face positioned right in front of my own.

With the fire softly reflecting of Hao-sama's face, I can't help but think that he is rather handsome looking. The fact that he's so close that I can almost feel the heat radiating from his body doesn't help much either.

_Iie! Mari no baka! Mari must not think such thoughts. If Hao-sama would ever to read Mari's mind, then Mari would surely perish. If not from the ridicule from Hao-sama then from the embarrassment that he even knows!_

Calming myself down, I realize that in the long run it really wouldn't matter if he knew or not. The result would still be the same. Hao-sama has eyes only for his otouto's fiancée, the Itako, Kyoyama Anna.

Speaking with some hesitancy, I decide not to bother Hao-sama with insignificant thoughts such as these.

"Mari is fine..."

His gaze turns into a slightly curious one, as he moves his face even closer to my own.

I briefly check if the other members of the Hanagumi are awake, hoping I could use them as a distraction from his attention, something I have never been used to. However much to my disappointment, I find that Kanna and Macchi are sound asleep, with no intention of waking up anytime soon.

_Mari wishes that they were awake right now…_

Hao-sama follows my gaze to the two sleeping figures and then looks back at me. Tilting his head to the side, he asks me a question that catches me off guard.

"Tell me Mari, do I make you nervous?"

His voice is not that of a mocking tone; rather it holds a child-like curiosity and some concern. It is during peaceful times such as these, I am able to see a side of Hao-sama that is not normally shown. This is not the Hao-sama that wishes to assimilate his younger brother nor the one who enjoys further tormenting the X-Laws. Instead he is the one who is able to show kindness and concern for his followers.

_Mari wonders what we mean to Hao-sama… Are we nothing more than simple followers? Or are we an irreplaceable factor in his life? How much does Mari actually mean to him?_

I close my eyes with some force and shake my head slowly, wondering where such thoughts even came from. At this point, I realize that Hao-sama had been staring all of this time waiting for an answer.

_Mari no baka, you still haven't answered Hao-sama's question! He must think that Mari is completely weird right now!_

"Hao-sama does not make Mari nervous. Mari could never be nervous with the one who saved her all those years ago."

Though my words were meant to reassure him, they hold a certain amount of truth within them. Without Hao-sama, I would have died a long time ago in Italy.

I was all alone on the streets, kicked out of every foster family due to my unexplainable powers. It seemed that whenever I lost control of my emotions, my shamanic powers would go haywire and lash out at anyone. Maybe that's why I seem so lacking when it comes to emotions. Eventually word got around and I became known as the girl with the "cursed" doll. After that, everyone went out of his or her way to avoid me or to make my life a living hell.

I briefly shudder at the thought.

_Mari would never like to go back there again…_

But then Hao-sama came along. He taught me how to survive and to control my powers, so I could use to serve his ambition. I then met up with Kanna and Matilda and we became known as the Hanagumi, dubbed by Hao-sama himself. He said it was a rather "appropriate title" for girls such as ourselves. I think that was the first time I ever blushed, even if only slightly..

"Hm, well that's good to know. I would hate to think that even the most trusted members of my group wouldn't be able to trust me."

As Hao-sama says that, I can see a small amount of regret and anger pass through his eyes, which makes me wonder what Hao-sama is really thinking.

"Mari trusts Hao-sama with all of her heart. She will follow Hao-sama to the ends of the earth. Kanna and Macchi too."

He looks down at the desert sand and crouches down. Taking a small amount in his gloved hand, he lets it slowly slip through his fingers and smiles bitterly as it pours back to the ground.

"And what if I were killed and sent back to the other side? What would Mari do then?"

With those words, Hao-sama turns his hand over to let the rest of the sand plop harshly to the ground. I pause for a moment, unsure of what to say. In all honesty, I had never once thought of such a thing until now. The possibility of Hao-sama dying never even occurred in my mind. I didn't even think it was possible. With what I was raised to believe, I answer him in a more confident tone, rather than my bored one.

"Hao-sama cannot die because he is immortal… Hao-sama can never be killed because he is strong…"

He gives a small chuckle and sits down in front of me with his legs crossed. His mantle blows in the dessert's breeze and reaches out towards me. The tip of it grazes against the skin of my arm, reminding me of just how close he is.

_Hao-sama is so close to Mari right now… Where is Chuck? Mari should find Chuck right now!_

Before I can even get up, Hao-sama begins talking, interrupting me from my current thoughts.

"Mari, it's not something widely known within my group, but I have already died twice. The first time I was betrayed by my own followers, for I had grown too powerful and it unnerved them. The second time I found my life ended as the result of a betrayal by someone who I had thought to be a friend. Perhaps for the very same reason. Were it not for my ability to transmigrate, I would be dead long ago. So you see it is not so impossible as to think that I could be killed in this life as well."

In the moment of silence that passes between the two of us, he leans his head upwards and stares at the stars in the night sky.

"Who knows? Perhaps in this lifetime… I shall be betrayed by someone close to me, yet again."

He then gives a short, resentful chuckle that dies almost as quickly as it began and narrows his eyes at the stars. At those bitter words, Mari can't help but feel her heart sink a little.

_What is Hao-sama trying say? That one day one a member of the Hanagumi will try to kill him?_

"Iie, Hao-sama. You are wrong… Mari would never betray Hao-sama. Neither Kanna or Macchi would try to as well. We owe so much to you."

I try to looks at his face and check if he was even slightly affected by my words, but he avoids eye contact and keeps his gaze to the stars.

"So much confidence in those words Mari… However, you cannot possible guarantee such a thing to me. There is always some situation that could happen at any given time, which would make even the loyalist of followers betray their masters."

I shake my head at his words.

_Do you really have so little faith in us, who would give our lives to save you in a heartbeat?_

"There is no such situation for Mari… Nothing can make Mari betray her Hao-sama."

"Is that so?"

He tears his eyes from the stars and focuses them solely on me.

"Well then Mari, what if I were to order you to kill Kanna and Macchi, right now. In their sleep. With no explanation what so ever. What would you do then?"

My eyes widen at the thought of having to kill the two people, who were the closest resemblance to friends I ever had. I place my hands on my head, trying to sort out this internal conflict.

_How is Mari supposed to answer this? Kanna and Macchi are both Mari's teammates. Yet Hao-sama is Mari's master. Mari cannot betray them but Mari cannot betray Hao-sama either._

I look at his eyes, hoping to find that this question is just some sort of joke. However, much to my disappointment, Hao-sama doesn't even so much as smile. Instead he peers straight at me as if looking into my soul, waiting for some sort of answer.

I look down at the sand wondering what I could possible say to convince him of my loyalty. Finally coming to the cold realization of what I would do, I truthfully answer my master.

"Mari… Mari would sooner take her own life than to betray either one of them. Kanna and Macchi are Mari's friends, who have stuck by her all this time, and Hao-sama is her master, who she is forever grateful to! Between those two, Mari will rather kill herself than to let either one of them feel the pain of betrayal. That is Mari's answer."

Hao-sama blinks, somewhat perplexed, never expecting such an answer. In all honesty, I find myself somewhat shocked at my response as well. He pauses for a brief moment before smiling at me.

"I'm impressed that you would choose something as cheapened as loyalty over your very existence, Mari. And… I believe that if such a time ever came, you would indeed choose that path. Though I cannot approve of you doing such a thing. You see, Mari is a very important to me after all."

At those words, I feel myself freeze, shocked that I indeed meant something to Hao-sama. I watch as he slowly stands up and walks towards me till he is less than an inch away from my body. He then bends down and gives me a small kiss on the cheek.

"I don't know what will come in the future Mari, however I do hope that you'll keep that admirable loyalty of yours and fight by my side to the very end, ne?"

As he walks away from the dying bonfire and into the desert, I blush a deep red at the thought I was just kissed by Hao-sama. I would be forever grateful that Hao-sama wasn't facing my way at that moment, so he couldn't see the look of embarrassment on my face.

_Hao-sama just kissed Mari! Just kissed me! What do I do? Should I thank him? Should I pretend as if nothing ever happened? What should Mari do!_

I force myself to calm down and slow down my irregular breathing. After a brief moment of thinking, I find that I'm only able to come up with only one intelligible thought.

_Why couldn't Hao-sama have kissed Mari on the lips instead?_

At that moment, Hao-sama turned around and gave me one of his infamous grins.

"Perhaps another time, ne, Mari-chan?"

As I blush even further, he laughs and walks off into the sunrise. I turn around in embarrassment only to find that Kanna and Macchi were awake and had been watching the entire time. They both stand up and stretch a bit. Kanna grins and pulls a cigarette from her back pocket. As she lights it up, using the embers of the campfire, she addresses me with a smirk on her face.

"Looks like our little Mari-chan is growing up eh, Macchi?"

Macchi grins and twirls around with her arm spread wide.

"Heh, heh! Yup!"

Stopping with her body facing mine, she then pouts and leans over.

"But that's not fair! I wanted a kiss from Hao-sama too!"

My eyes widen from the shock of what she so easily confessed but that was nothing compared to what she said right after that.

"You too right, Kanna?"

"Wha- What are you talking about?"

As Kanna flusters for the first time I was ever aware of, I turn around and stare into the sunrise that Hao-sama had disappeared into.

_He probably left to gather Oppacho and the rest of our group. _

Allowing a small smile to grace my lips, I tune out my teammates' argument over the possibility of being kissed by Hao-sama as well. It was then I realized that I was actually happy. And for the first time ever, I was actually glad that I stayed up that night.

_Things are never boring as long as Hao-sama is around…_

**The End**

A/N: So what do you guys think? I don't know if there's a lot of Shaman King fans still around, though I like to assume so. I love any pairing that involves Hao, so long as it isn't shonnen-ai. It's not being narrow minded thou, it just doesn't capture my fancy. Best pairing I can think of though is Hao x Jeanne. It's always interesting to see what kind of situations derive from the two shamans with the most opposite views in life. Besides, there can always be a love/hate thing going on, even though I'm pretty sure they would actually love nothing more than to destroy one another.

This was a story I had partially created a few months ago. Just finishing the series of Shaman King, I decided to try and make the anime live on in any way I can. So I finished the story and touched things up a bit. If any of you can think of something that can be improved on and have suggestions, then feel free to review me. I don't know if this is a one-shot yet, but I guess your output will help decide on that. If there are no suggestions and you liked the story, then review anyway! Under the circumstance that one of you may actually have a request for fic, then I'll listen to those as well. I look forward to your reviews, whatever they may be! See you around!


End file.
